Patent Litigation Considerations for Chinese Companies

Chinese companies have seen immense success in the technology arena in recent years. There has, however, been an uptick in U.S. patent litigations against Chinese companies. And given the amount of business that Chinese companies do in the U.S. these days, the likelihood of collecting a significant U.S. judgment (or settlement payment) has similarly increased.
In light of these developments, it is imperative that Chinese companies take measures to reduce exposure to U.S. patent lawsuits and the associated burdens of litigation. This includes reviewing business practices to avoid inadvertently infringing U.S. patents and opening the door to venue in plaintiff-friendly jurisdictions. In addition, Chinese companies should apply a discovery strategy early in litigation that limits discovery to only U.S.-based activities. In doing so, Chinese companies may set the stage for early motions for summary judgment to foreclose the recovery of damages for foreign sales.
I will discuss these considerations, along with others that similarly affect Chinese companies, during my presentation.

Lisa D. Zang is an associate in Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's Los Angeles office, where her practice focuses on intellectual property litigation. Lisa has represented clients in the biotech, communications, electronics, mobile, pharmaceutical, security, and software industries in patent infringement and trade secret matters. She has handled all phases of patent litigation, including pre-suit due diligence, preparing pleadings and case dispositive motions, managing discovery, taking fact and expert witness depositions, preparing claim construction briefing, attending hearings as second chair, preparing expert reports, pre-trial proceedings, and handling settlement negotiations. Lisa works closely with clients to develop legal strategies in line with underlying business objectives.
Lisa has also prosecuted patents in the medical device, MEMS, biofuel, and military equipment industries.
During law school, Lisa served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Carlos T. Bea of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Lisa speaks Mandarin Chinese.

Sponsor(s): Center for Chinese Studies, Center for Global Management